


A Simple Circle

by YanzaDracan



Category: Actor RPF, Kane (Band), Leverage RPF, Supernatural RPF
Genre: Angst, Drama, Emotional, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-30
Updated: 2012-07-30
Packaged: 2017-11-11 01:55:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,181
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/473170
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YanzaDracan/pseuds/YanzaDracan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A simple piece of silver.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Simple Circle

**Author's Note:**

> **Disclaimer:** Not mine. I only make up situations for them that are only for pleasure and not for profit. Any goofs, gaffs, bending of facts, or mistakes are mine.

The picture sat on the coffee table between a bottle of Jack Daniels and a crumpled Parliament cigarette pack.

He remembered when the picture was taken. Steve had been putting the finishing touches on _Rollin On_. After five years of steady gigs KANE had taken a break while he was filming _Secondhand Lions_ , he and Steve had just celebrated their first anniversary the month before, driving to Tulsa and spending a week with his folks before driving back.

A sad smile crossed Christian’s face as he remembered stopping at every reservation shop along I-40 indulging in their mutual love of silver, turquoise, and all things Native American. As they crossed the river into Laughlin, Nevada, they decided to spend a couple days enjoying the casinos and restaurants. Unpacking the truck hadn’t taken long, so after a shower and room service they spread their loot across the bed. Christian watched Steve through the screen of his eyelashes as the blond fitted the turquoise nugget bracelet to his right wrist, all the while running his fingers over the small white box that rested on his knee.

“Chris?”

The confusion in Steve’s voice pulled his attention from Steve’s hands to his face.

“You okay, man?”

“Yeah. Umm … I … Well… I wanted … Fuck.” Blushing he looked up into twinkling blue eyes. Taking a deep breath he started again. “I wanted you to have something that showed Iloveyou.” The words came out in a rush as he handed Steve the box.

Steve looked at him for several seconds before he slowly opened the box. His eyes moved from the contents to Christian and back. Using one finger he reverently ran it over the heavy silver band that lay in its bed of white cotton.

Reaching around his back, a box identical to the one he’d just received appeared in Steve’s hand. A sheepish grin appeared on both men’s faces as Steve handed him the box.

“I love you, too.” He said softly.

Inside his box was a wide silver band with narrower bands on the top and bottom. Solemnly he picked up the ring and handed it to Steve. Never hesitating, the singer slid the ring onto the middle finger of his right hand.

“Figured it would cause less questions than on your ring finger.” He blushed.

Handing over his ring, he watched as Christian slid it on his right hand ring finger then raised the hand to his lips … A kiss in benediction. Steve promptly killed the serious mood by tackling him to the bed and stealing his breath in a lip biting, tongue twisting, lick your tonsils kiss.

His attention was jerked back to the present when a car backfired.

The conversation he’d just had with Steve had left him numb. KANE was no more. Christian wasn’t sure how the conversation had gone from, ‘Please come to Nashville with me,’ to Steve’s, ‘We should disband KANE’.

They had stared at each other until Steve mumbled that he had to get to the studio or lose his time slot. Christian had been so shell-shocked that he’d just nodded and flopped back on the couch. The slamming door caused him to jerk like he’d been shot. He reached for the Jack, but by then he was so numb that he didn’t even feel the burn as the whiskey slid down his throat.

Setting the bottle back on the table, it tilted to the side as it landed on the cigarette pack. Using the bottle to move the ball of paper and cellophane something clinked against the glass. Curious, Christian straightened the pack and dumped the contents into his hand.

His throat closed until he was sure he couldn’t breathe. In the palm of his hand among the flakes of tobacco was Steve’s silver band. His fingers curled into his palm as he used his knuckles to rub the ache in his chest.

He lay on the couch, too many shocks all at once attempting to shut down his brain, trying to lull him into escaping the pain. Instead of sleeping, he stared at the picture, stared at the silver band thinking about the night in Laughlin when they’d exchanged rings, tears dampening his shirt sleeve.

Ready to burst from all the emotions churning through his head, he jumped off the couch, pacing the room like a caged tiger. The inferno of his anger dried his tears and scarred the cuts bleeding in his soul. Instead of throwing Steve’s discarded ring across the room as his rage urged him to do, he laid it gently on the table in front of the picture. Pausing for just a moment, he pulled the band off his middle finger and laid it next to Steve’s.

He had a plane to catch to Nashville.

~ Fini ~


	2. The Circle Closes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It takes more words to fix them then to break them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Disclaimer:** Not mine. I only make up situations for them that are only for pleasure and not for profit. Any goofs, gaffs, bending of facts, or mistakes are mine.

When Steve returned to the house three hours later, he steeled himself to finish the conversation they’d not had before he left for the studio. They had jumped off the cliff and blurted out what was foremost on their minds. Christian had asked him to come to Nashville at the same time Steve had rung the death knell for KANE.

Prepared for Christian to fly up in his face like a pissed off rooster, he felt his shoulders relax when the house remained quiet. Steve propped his guitar in the corner and hung up his jacket. He listened for a minute trying to determine where Christian was sequestered.

“Christian?”

He paused realizing how empty the house felt. He figured Christian had gone for a drive to clear his head before tackling the dissection of a large portion of their lives. He grabbed a beer perusing the refrigerator for supper ideas though he doubted either of them would be in the mood.

He settled on the couch with his mail, sorting through the handful of envelopes while he reached for the TV remote. As his eyes tracked from the mail to the remote they landed on the picture of him in the studio then slid to the carefully straightened cigarette pack and the two silver rings lying amidst flakes of tobacco.

_*Fuck!*_

He knew he should have slid the ring on one his chains, but he’d been in a hurry when he pulled the band off. Helping his dad change the landscaping in the backyard, the ring was rubbing a blister on his finger so he’d dropped it in his empty cigarette pack and put it in his pocket. He’d dumped the contents of his pockets onto the coffee table on the way to the shower and forgotten it.

But why was Christian’s ring on the table? Surely he didn’t think because he said they should disband KANE that he didn’t want to be lovers anymore.

Steve groaned as he realized that Christian had taken 1+1 and come up with 3 … Which meant that Christian Kane was on a plane thinking Steve didn’t want him either personally or professionally. He ran his hands through his hair pitying the people stuck on the plane with what amounted to a stepped on rattlesnake in the shape of Christian Kane, and asked for divine intervention to fix the mess he’d created.

He was trying to figure out who to call first when his phone rang. He cringed when he saw the caller ID.

The normally warm voice was so cool the screen on his phone developed frost.

“You wanna explain to me why I have an incoherent Christian Kane in my bed?”

Steve always thought it was cute the way the normally quiet and reserved Jensen tried to protect his friends, but when that Ackles’ wrath was directed his way, he found it wasn’t quite so cute.

As quick as he could Steve explained the situation and Christian's’ misunderstanding.

“So you’re sayin’ this is Christian’s fault?” The temperature on the phone dropped another 10 degrees. “You drop a bomb in his lap then run off to the studio, and you didn’t think that bomb was going to explode all over your fuckin’ living room? I know you’re not that blond, Carlson.”

“I couldn’t lose the studio time. Darren …” Steve started.

“I hope you are not telling me that Darren and a CD are more important to you than Christian.”

Now Jensen’s tones were clipped—a sure indication that he was valiantly trying to remember that both men were his friends. He wanted them happy, and ripping the singer’s head off was not conducive to that goal.

“No, but I didn’t want to hurt Christian by telling him I wouldn’t go to Nashville … I didn’t want to argue about disbanding KANE … So I left.” The more he said it, the worse it sounded.

“Oh well that makes it alright. You didn’t want to hurt him so you fuckin’ broke him instead. Real piece o’ work ain’t ya?”

“I’m sorry.” Steve pleaded. “I screwed up. _‘No’_ is just not a word in my vocabulary with Christian. You know that.”

Jensen sighed and rubbed his face. “Man, he’s supposed to be in Nashville. Do you know how many messages he has on his phone from Sony? I called and told ‘em he was down with the flu. I’m off the rest of the week so I’ll get him to Nashville. I love ya both, but if you don’t fix this I’m sooo kickin’ your ass.”

Steve felt his throat close. They had awesome friends. He should have known a hurting Christian would find some place he felt safe to lick his wounds. He felt a twinge of jealousy at the idea of HIS lover in Jensen’s bed, but squashed that before if fully formed. The three of them had become fast friends since they first met, and while Steve and Jensen spent more time together, Jensen had always had a special connection with Christian.

He’d just spent the last three hours going over the cover art for the CD when his phone chirped.

_‘In Nashville. Shields on full. Bad boy Kane in charge. Nashville will never be the same. Get on the stick, dude.’_

Steve sighed. Things just kept getting better. Christian had his armor in place, and the best he could hope for was superficial Okie bullshit, but he sucked it up and started the process of digging through Kane to get to Christian.

His phone calls always went to voicemail. Christian would call back, but their conversations felt stilted because Steve couldn’t read Christian’s body language. Being a man of action and movement, Christian’s body said much more than his mouth ever did, but he always made sure that Christian knew he loved him and wanted to work things out between them no matter what it took.

Jensen’s texts and emails kept Steve from packing his tent and giving up when his cowboy was at his most stubborn.

_‘If you weren’t my friend, I’d so be poachin’ your boy.’_

_‘Christian sure looked good against my 1K count Egyptian cotton sheets.’_

Even though Steve knew what Jensen was doing by appealing to his baser nature, that didn’t stop the possessive growling and cussing every time Jensen called.

Then there were the little tidbits about time he spent with Christian. How he looked, what they did. It made Steve miserable, and wanting to punch his pretty friend, but it also motivated him.

He hadn’t told his folks about their breakup and when his mother asked him if she should set a place for Christian at Thanksgiving, he had to cut the call off before the tears that were clogging his throat broke free.

Pictures of Christian and Jensen at a charity golf tournament nearly killed him. The two handsome men smiled brightly for the camera, arms around each other as they mugged for the press. It was only when he studied the pictures more closely that he saw the shadows in Christian’s eyes and the worry in Jen’s.

At Christmas his mother pulled him away from the family and demanded to know what was going on. Why was he so withdrawn and miserable. Unable to keep quiet in the face of his mother’s concern, he’d broken down. The release of all that pent up emotion filled Steve with a new determination to get Christian back in his life. After a lonely New Year’s Eve, his resolution was to have the rings back on their fingers by his birthday.

They began meeting for lunch a couple times a week until Christian told him _Leverage_ was going to Portland to film the next season. His first thought was he was royally screwed. At 2 am the day before Christian was set to drive to Portland his phone rang.

“If I showed up on your doorstep would you slam the door in my face?” The gravel voice whispered.

Steve didn’t hesitate. “Never. I love you.”

“Answer your door, Carlson.” The whisper ordered.

Hardly daring to breathe, bare feet hurried to the door. The muted light from the living room landed on the face Steve had been afraid would never grace his door again. They stared at each other for what seemed like hours before the curtain of dark lashes raised showing pleading blue eyes.

“I couldn’t sleep.”

“Me either.” Steve whispered.

“Can I?” Christian motioned into the house.

“Yeah.” Steve blushed at keeping Christian standing on the porch as he moved aside.

Uncomfortable in the house that had been their home, Christian kicked off his boots before shoving his hands in his pockets to keep from touching things in the room to reacquaint himself with their ‘stuff’.

A warm hand at the small of his back brought his attention back to the present.

“Want a beer?” Steve asked quietly.

Chewing his bottom lip, Christian nodded, eyes still roaming the house looking for changes.

“Get comfortable. I’ll be right back.” Steve’s hand smoothed over Christian’s back as he moved toward the kitchen.

When he came back Christian dropped the notebook he’d been picked up off the coffee table.

“Sorry I … Ugh … Didn’t mean to be nosy … It was just …” He stammered.

“It okay, Christian.” Steve cringed inwardly at Christian’s hesitancy. “This is your home, too.”

Christian’s expression was hopeful behind the curtain of his hair. “Okay.”

He took the offered beer and after a healthy drink began to roam the room while Steve settled on cross-legged on the couch.

Seemingly satisfied and starting to relax, Christian finally perched on the edge of the couch, ready to move quickly.

“I bought the CD.” He ducked his head. “It turned out great.”

Steve was surprised since the CD would have been lumped in with the things that reminded Christian of how much Steve had hurt him.

“Thanks.”

“Nashville?” Steve held his breath.

Christian grimaced before he took another drink from his bottle. “Totally fucked. Album’ll probably never see the light of day, but I held out long enough to get my shit back.”

“Sorry, man.”

“Not your fault they’re a bunch of soulless sheep.” Christian growled.

He got up to prowl the room again. Steve heard the door to backyard open. Grabbing his cigarettes and followed.

Steve tried to stay calm as he watched Christian walk the perimeter of the yard. Seemingly satisfied he sat on the step below Steve brushing lightly against his leg. The longer they sat the more Christian leaned. He just stubbed out his cigarette when Christian’s voice startled him.

“Did you really take your ring off ‘cause of a blister?”

“Yeah. Shoulda put it on a chain instead of in my pocket.” He tried to keep the quiver out of his voice as he pulled out a chain with both rings hanging from it.

He felt Christian’s head nod against his leg.

“Think I could sleep now. Mind if I crash on the couch a couple hours?”

Steve’s heart leaped to his throat, but he was afraid to push.

“Sure.”

“Thanks.” He pulled Steve to his feet and placed a chaste kiss on his lips before heading inside.

Steve was still staring after the man when he heard him get a blanket out of the closet.

Their conversations over the next month were some of the strangest Steve had ever had with Christian. Out of the blue he’d ask a question about why Steve’d gone to the studio or why he didn’t answer his question about going to Nashville.

Then Christian dropped his bombshell.

“Come to Portland? Come sing with me and Jay like the old days.” Steve could hear the tentative note in his voice. “I got an extra room.”

Hope rose in Steve’s chest. “That’d be great, man.”

What followed was one of the best and strangest times of Steve’s life. He was working on a new CD, doing an appearance on a network TV show, working his own gigs, plus gigs with a resuscitated KANE. Nothing was said and there were no overt signs, but the week he was in the hospital from the spider bite something changed. Every time he turned, Christian was in his space, hanging over the neck of his guitar, whispering in his ear, sending him smoldering looks as he wrapped his lips around the top of the JD bottle.

When Jensen showed up for Christian’s birthday Steve watched the interaction between the two. They were just the same as always, protective, affectionate, and like a set of twins with their own secret language. Steve was more than a little jealous by the time Jensen finally hugged him.

“You sooo owe me, dude.” He squeezed the singer hard.

When Steve just looked confused, Jensen laughed. “You two still don’t talk.”

“We’re movin’ slow.” Steve countered.

“Glaciers move slow.”

Jensen just gave him an evil smirk and proceeded to flirt with Christian until Steve was chewing his tongue raw to keep silent, then turning his attention to Steve until Christian was practically growling the lyrics.

Christian’s birthday party traveled from Dante’s to his condo for a couple more hours. Suddenly everyone had disappeared including Jensen, and he’s being covered from lips to toes by a broad warm body that seemed to have developed extra hands.

“Christian?”

“Love you. Want it all back.”

“Me too.”

Christian reached up and slid the chain off his neck that held their rings. He pushed Steve’s ring on his right ring finger then raised the hand to his lips.

Steve slid Christian’s back on his middle finger.

Hours later when the sweat was cooling and Steve lay draped across Christian’s chest trying to catch his breath, strong fingers combed through his hair.

“We need to get Jensen something REALLY nice.” Christian said absently.

“What?!” Steve almost yanked his own hair out jerking upright.

“He’s the only reason we’re back together.” Christian pushed him back down against his chest.

“What!?”

“He kept me from going off the rails.”

“He wants you for himself.” Steve snorted.

“Yeah well what’s not to want?” Christian snickered.

“Christian.” Steve growled.

“He was always the perfect gentleman.”

“He better’d been.”

“Maybe if I hadn’t met you first.” Christian returned to combing through his hair with his fingers.

“Definitely.” Steve agreed sleepily.

“Glad to have ya home, darlin’.”

~ Fini ~


End file.
